00:00:02 The next part of our program is one
00:00:04 that we’ve come to enjoy so much in the past few years.
00:00:09 It’s the prerecorded video The Inside Story.
00:00:15 This installment of The Inside Story will be hosted
00:00:17 by Brother Kenneth Stovall, with our Theocratic Schools Department.
00:00:21 So let’s give attention to and enjoy this video.
00:00:50 Welcome to this edition of The Inside Story.
00:00:53 Imagine yourself as a child
00:00:55 growing up in a country where our work is under ban.
00:00:58 What would that be like?
00:01:00 You’re going to find out as we talk to a couple from Romania.
00:01:04 Are you familiar with the progress of our work in India?
00:01:07 I think you’re in for a few surprises as we talk to four students
00:01:11 who come to us from the India branch.
00:01:14 But let’s get started by introducing our first guests.
00:01:17 From Romania —please welcome Ionuţ and Delia Cicio.
00:01:22 Nice to see you.
00:01:24 Good to see you, Brother Stovall.
00:01:29 Welcome to The Inside Story.
00:01:32 It’s a privilege to be here.
00:01:34 Yes, it is—but a nervous privilege.
00:01:36 Well, I hope you’re not too nervous.
00:01:39 Well, to start with, could you just help us
00:01:41 to understand how the work got started in Romania?
00:01:44 The work started in 1911.
00:01:47 By 1919, there were over 1,700 publishers
00:01:51 and 150 groups or congregations in Romania.
00:01:55 My goodness, that was very fast growth!
00:01:58 But there was some opposition to the work.
00:02:00 Yes, in 1949, the Communist government banned our work,
00:02:05 and sadly, it lasted until 1990.
00:02:09 That’s amazing! So that’s 40 years under ban.
00:02:12 But now, as I understand it,
00:02:14 that’s when both of your families got the truth —when the ban was going on.
00:02:18 Is that correct?
00:02:19 Yes, my mother was a baby
00:02:21 when my grandparents got baptized,
00:02:24 so she grew up in the truth.
00:02:26 In fact, my grandmother was a pioneer under the ban for many years.
00:02:30 Later, my two sisters and I
00:02:33 were raised in the truth.
00:02:34 Very interesting.
00:02:35 And, Ionuţ, what about you?
00:02:37 My parents were contacted by the Witnesses
00:02:40 ten years before the ban was lifted,
00:02:42 so my sister and I were also raised in the truth.
00:02:45 So this is very interesting.
00:02:48 Often, we have talked about brothers who were faithful under ban who were adults,
00:02:52 but you were children while the ban was going on, and you stayed faithful.
00:02:56 So, Delia, do you remember what it was like
00:02:59 going to meetings under ban?
00:03:01 Yes, we met secretly in small groups.
00:03:04 The friends would arrive at different times,
00:03:07 but once everyone was inside the home,
00:03:09 we would lock the gate and the door
00:03:11 and pull down all of the shades.
00:03:13 The meetings were moved to a different location each week.
00:03:17 Very interesting.
00:03:18 Now, it must have been, though,
00:03:20 that you probably had to miss a lot of meetings under ban.
00:03:23 No, no—we didn’t want to miss any opportunity to meet together.
00:03:26 But weren’t you frightened in these meetings
00:03:29 (where you’d pulled down all the shades)
00:03:31 that you might be discovered or arrested?
00:03:34 You might think so, but the opposite was true.
00:03:37 I felt the most safe when we were all together.
00:03:40 You could feel Jehovah’s protection.
00:03:42 That’s very touching.
00:03:44 So, Ionuţ, did you and Delia know each other growing up?
00:03:48 Yes, we grew up in the same town, Negreşti-Oaş,
00:03:52 so our families knew each other.
00:03:55 So did your families, then, occasionally attend the same meetings?
00:03:58 No, we didn’t.
00:04:01 You see, my family was
00:04:03 in a separate group from Delia’s family.
00:04:06 In a separate group?
00:04:08 Now, explain what you mean.
00:04:10 You might remember Brother Lösch’s video
00:04:13 from the 2018 annual meeting.
00:04:16 He explained how government spies
00:04:18 infiltrated the Witnesses in Romania,
00:04:21 and this made it difficult to know who to trust.
00:04:25 This caused the Witnesses to separate
00:04:28 into two large groups
00:04:30 —one group stayed in contact
00:04:32 with world headquarters in Brooklyn,
00:04:35 and the other did not.
00:04:37 But both groups continued to worship Jehovah.
00:04:40 Amazing!
00:04:41 So you grew up —both of you as Jehovah’s Witnesses
00:04:44 but associating with different groups.
00:04:47 Now, did one group view the other group as apostates?
00:04:51 Generally, no.
00:04:53 We didn’t see the other group as apostates.
00:04:56 Our beliefs were essentially the same.
00:04:59 Yes, I should mention that when I was small,
00:05:02 I remember my mother stayed up one night studying.
00:05:06 After all night of study, meditation, and prayer,
00:05:09 she decided to switch to the group connected to the main organization.
00:05:13 So that’s why I grew up as a part of the group associated with the main organization.
00:05:18 My, it sounds like your mother was very conscientious
00:05:21 and set a really good example for you.
00:05:24 I deeply appreciate her and my grandparents
00:05:27 for being faithful examples and good teachers.
00:05:30 OK, when you say good teachers, what do you mean?
00:05:33 For example, we kept beehives in our garden;
00:05:38 my mother helped us to see how Jehovah made them to be industrious.
00:05:41 Then she drew the lesson that we could be industrious like the bees,
00:05:45 and in spite of the ban, we could stay busy serving Jehovah.
00:05:48 Those must be some cherished memories, those lessons like that.
00:05:53 Now, I wonder.
00:05:54 At meetings, since the literature was banned, what did you study?
00:05:58 At meetings, usually there was one copy of The Watchtower for the whole group.
00:06:03 When the paragraph was read,
00:06:05 we would listen and answer the question from memory.
00:06:09 My goodness, you had to pay really close attention at the meetings.
00:06:13 Were there ever times when you could get together in larger groups?
00:06:18 We couldn’t have assemblies and conventions,
00:06:21 but we could have funerals,
00:06:24 weddings, picnics.
00:06:27 These became our assemblies and conventions.
00:06:29 Sometimes, a funeral could have
00:06:32 as many as 1,000 people,
00:06:34 and it could last up to four hours.
00:06:37 Wow!
00:06:38 Now, what about songs?
00:06:39 The songbook would have been part of the banned literature.
00:06:42 Could you sing songs at your meetings?
00:06:45 I remember being a child
00:06:47 and getting together to memorize the songs.
00:06:49 We enjoyed that; it was entertainment for us.
00:06:52 So you memorized the songs?
00:06:54 So if someone called out a song number,
00:06:57 you could sing the song from memory?
00:06:59 Yes.
00:07:01 What was going to school like under ban?
00:07:03 Our classmates and our neighbors
00:07:06 all knew we were Jehovah’s Witnesses
00:07:08 because when under ban,
00:07:11 we didn’t hide our identity as Witnesses.
00:07:16 We just hid the things
00:07:19 that the government outlawed, such as meetings,
00:07:21 preaching, literature.
00:07:24 So you must have been very determined
00:07:27 to stay faithful in school.
00:07:29 So whatever happened to the two groups?
00:07:33 I’m happy to say they reunited
00:07:35 as one organization in 1988;
00:07:38 then the ban was lifted in 1990.
00:07:42 The brothers were overjoyed.
00:07:44 I can imagine.
00:07:45 They must have felt a great deal of relief
00:07:48 when they could go about their spiritual routine without the ban.
00:07:50 True.
00:07:51 But I learned a lesson I never want to forget:
00:07:55 Ban or no ban, we are always under attack by Satan.
00:08:00 I saw brothers that stayed faithful during the ban
00:08:04 but fell away once the ban was lifted.
00:08:07 As circumstances change,
00:08:10 Satan will always look for new ways to attack us.
00:08:15 So ban or no ban,
00:08:18 we must stay close to Jehovah.
00:08:21 Those are profound thoughts, Ionuţ.
00:08:24 Well, how is Jehovah blessing the work in Romania today?
00:08:29 Today, there are more than
40,000 Witnesses in Romania.
00:08:33 Actually, we brought a video that shows what’s being done in Romania today.
00:08:37 Would you like to see it?
00:08:38 Yes, that would be wonderful!
00:08:47 Jesus said: “Be on the watch for the false prophets
00:08:51 “who come to you in sheep’s covering,
00:08:53 but inside they are ravenous wolves.”
00:08:57 During the mid-20th century,
00:09:00 government agents in Romania used techniques
00:09:03 to infiltrate the congregation
00:09:05 —feigning interest and posing as spiritual brothers.
00:09:09 They were so convincing that some were even appointed as elders
00:09:13 and given very responsible positions.
00:09:16 Not knowing who could be trusted,
00:09:19 a large group of brothers separated from the organization
00:09:23 that was being used by headquarters.
00:09:26 Still, they were really brothers in their heart;
00:09:29 they loved the truth.
00:09:31 So in 1988,
00:09:33 a reunification of about 5,000 was accomplished.
00:09:38 And now that our Romanian brothers and sisters were reunited,
00:09:42 they could fully work “shoulder to shoulder”
00:09:44 in sharing the good news of God’s Kingdom.
00:09:48 This was beautiful timing
00:09:50 because conditions in Romania were ripe
00:09:53 for accelerated spiritual growth.
00:09:55 In 1990, the ban that they had endured
00:09:59 for more than 40 years was finally lifted.
00:10:02 Brothers Ian Florian and Tetu Bindu
00:10:06 remember the period of fiery test.
00:10:10 At one time, Brother Florian was part of the separated group.
00:10:13 Brother Bindu was always with a congregation
00:10:17 that remained with the main organization
00:10:19 associated with headquarters.
00:10:21 They now serve together as elders in the congregation.
00:10:26 When I returned to Jehovah’s organization,
00:10:28 I had experienced the most profound and noble feelings
00:10:32 that only someone who belongs to Jehovah’s worldwide family can have.
00:10:37 Today, they serve in unity
00:10:40 and enjoy many spiritual blessings.
00:10:42 Like so many other mature ones with a similar background,
00:10:45 their rich history and experience benefit younger ones.
00:10:50 In just six years after the ban was lifted,
00:10:53 the number of publishers nearly doubled.
00:10:56 Regular pioneers increased by nearly 3,000 percent.
00:11:01 There are now more than 40,000 publishers.
00:11:04 Looking forward, the Romanian branch has begun working
00:11:09 with the Central European branch to form foreign-language circuits
00:11:12 for Hungarian- and Romany-speaking people.
00:11:16 Recently, a seminar was organized
00:11:19 for language instructors.
00:11:21 The unity of our Romanian brothers and sisters
00:11:25 is making it possible to reach
00:11:28 people of all languages with the good news.
00:11:32 The cold, insidious tactics of Satan’s agents
00:11:36 failed to separate our brothers from Jehovah
00:11:40 and each other,
00:11:42 and even now,
00:11:44 Jehovah is blessing them
00:11:46 with a spiritual paradise.
00:11:58 What a wonderful video!
00:12:01 Obviously, the brothers in Romania,
00:12:04 both the adults and the children,
00:12:07 had a lot of courage and faith
00:12:10 to keep their integrity under the ban.
00:12:12 Thank you, Ionuţ and Delia, for sharing your story with us.
00:12:22 Now let’s introduce our next guests.
00:12:24 From India, we have not two, but four students.
00:12:29 Please welcome Sarb and Geeta Dhillon
00:12:32 and Puneet and Ritu Aggarwal.
00:12:36 Ritu.
00:12:37 Hello.
00:12:39 Hello, Brother Stovall.
00:12:41 Thank you, good to see you.
00:12:46 Well, thank you so much for joining us.
00:12:49 Thank you!
00:12:51 Now, you all serve at the India branch,
00:12:53 and as I understand,
00:12:55 you are in English congregations.
00:12:57 Yes, there are several English congregations in India.
00:13:00 Very interesting.
00:13:01 So could we start by having you just explain
00:13:04 a little bit about the background of the work in India?
00:13:06 Sure!
00:13:07 The work got started around 1905.
00:13:10 There was a man called A. J. Joseph.
00:13:13 He had questions about the Bible,
00:13:17 and somebody gave him books by Brother Russell.
00:13:19 He read those books
00:13:21 and came into the truth,
00:13:23 and for around 60 years,
00:13:25 he proved to be instrumental in establishing the work in India.
00:13:29 It is amazing how Jehovah used Brother Russell
00:13:32 to spread the good news so far!
00:13:34 Yes.
00:13:35 And in fact, Brother Russell went to India in 1912, and in one village,
00:13:40 the villagers actually changed the name of the village to Russelpuram,
00:13:44 which means “The Place of Russell.”
00:13:46 Amazing! So is it still there today?
00:13:49 Yes, it’s in the beautiful state of Kerala, which is in the south of India.
00:13:53 Now, there are a lot of misconceptions about India.
00:13:56 Uh-huh.
00:13:57 Often, when you see pictures,
00:13:59 you see what appear to be tremendously overcrowded cities,
00:14:03 but there must be more to India than that.
00:14:06 Yes, brother, actually India is a very, very diverse country,
00:14:09 and it’s a very beautiful country.
00:14:11 If you go to the north of India,
00:14:13 you will have the world famous Himalayan Mountains;
00:14:16 if you go to the northwest, you will find the Great Indian Desert;
00:14:20 and if you go to the southwest and southeast, you will have miles of beaches;
00:14:24 and then in the southern tip of it,
00:14:26 we have another national beauty that’s called backwaters.
00:14:29 These are actually lagoons or lakes.
00:14:31 What a beautiful country!
00:14:34 Yes.
00:14:35 And what diversity!
00:14:37 And, you know, the peoples and the cultures are as diverse as the country.
00:14:41 In fact, we have over 700 languages.
00:14:44 Seven hundred languages!
00:14:46 That’s amazing!
00:14:48 What about religion? Is it diverse also?
00:14:51 Yes, the majority of people are Hindus,
00:14:54 but there are also Buddhists and Muslims.
00:14:56 In fact, there are several states in the northeast,
00:15:00 known as the Seven Sisters, where people profess to be Christians.
00:15:04 How many people are we talking about?
00:15:06 Millions of people.
00:15:08 So there are millions of people in India that profess to be Christian.
00:15:10 Yes.
00:15:11 I did not know that.
00:15:12 So, what’s the situation with Jehovah’s Witnesses in India?
00:15:16 Well, we have just under
50,000 Witnesses in the whole of India.
00:15:20 Now, that’s a ratio of 1 publisher
00:15:23 to every 27,000 people.
00:15:26 Now, what that means is that some 90 percent
00:15:29 of our territory is actually unworked,
00:15:32 so the need over there is very, very great!
00:15:35 Well, I can see there’s an amazing need.
00:15:37 You see, in those states where the people are,
00:15:41 or profess to be, Christian, there are actually millions of people
00:15:44 that you can speak to about the truth very easily.
00:15:47 But there’s also been an amazing response
00:15:49 to the truth in other parts of India too.
00:15:51 Amazing response?
00:15:52 Now, what do you mean by amazing response?
00:15:56 Well, there have been reports of congregations where there are 50 publishers,
00:16:01 but over 850 people have attended the Memorial,
00:16:05 for example, in places like Kaushambi and Allahabad.
00:16:09 And brothers have been sent into untouched territories,
00:16:12 into villages where villagers just come out,
00:16:15 sit on the ground, and listen to the brothers for hours.
00:16:18 Those are such interesting reports.
00:16:21 What about you personally?
00:16:22 I mean, what have you personally experienced as far as response to the truth?
00:16:27 Brother, when I was a pioneer back in my congregation,
00:16:30 I found people were very, very nice.
00:16:32 They were always ready to listen.
00:16:34 It wasn’t difficult to start two or three Bible studies in a day.
00:16:37 And eventually, I came to the point that I couldn’t continue
00:16:40 the house-to-house ministry because I had so many Bible studies.
00:16:43 That’s fantastic!
00:16:45 What makes the people so eager to listen?
00:16:48 Well, the Indian people in general are spiritually-minded,
00:16:53 and the majority do believe
00:16:55 in the existence of a God, or even many gods.
00:16:59 And many people feel downtrodden and overlooked,
00:17:02 and so they are drawn to the love and respect
00:17:05 that they experience among the brothers.
00:17:08 And especially when they learn about a Creator
00:17:10 who actually loves them and cares for them,
00:17:13 it changes their viewpoint toward themselves,
00:17:16 and that also helps them to come into the truth.
00:17:19 Well, given the need and the response that you’re getting,
00:17:24 can you get help from other places,
00:17:26 like from brothers or publishers from other countries?
00:17:29 Absolutely!
00:17:30 In fact, every year we organize special campaigns
00:17:34 to try to cover some of our unworked territory,
00:17:37 and we have friends come from other countries who support these campaigns.
00:17:41 And how does that work out?
00:17:42 Well, the friends who come really enjoy themselves.
00:17:45 They enjoy themselves so much that they often come back again
00:17:49 for longer periods of time.
00:17:51 So you have need-greaters in India?
00:17:53 We do!
00:17:55 Could you use more?
00:17:56 Oh, yes, please!
00:17:57 And there is also a growing sign-language field in India.
00:18:01 The deaf field is one of the fastest growing fields in India.
00:18:05 For example, a few years ago, there were no congregations for the deaf,
00:18:08 but today, we have 13 congregations
00:18:11 and over 46 pregroups and groups.
00:18:13 Wow! Again, that’s amazing response.
00:18:16 What kind of sign language do you use in India?
00:18:19 Is it similar to American Sign Language?
00:18:22 No. We have Indian Sign Language,
00:18:24 which is very natural and very easy to learn.
00:18:27 Actually, I can help you to learn some.
00:18:29 You can try!
00:18:30 Yes, OK.
00:18:31 So the sign for women is like this
00:18:34 because they wear nose rings,
00:18:36 and the sign for men is like this
00:18:38 because they have mustaches —not all, of course.
00:18:41 And then I just act like I’m eating a fruit.
00:18:46 So now I’m going to do a sign, and let’s see if you can understand.
00:18:49 You can guess.
00:18:51 You’re giving me a test.
00:18:52 Yes, it’s from the Bible; it’s very easy.
00:18:54 So if I do like this, which Bible character is it?
00:18:57 Eve.
00:18:58 Oh! Very good!
00:18:59 And if I do like that?
00:19:02 Adam.
00:19:02 Wow! Very good!
00:19:04 I’m on my way to learning Indian Sign Language.
00:19:06 Yes, yes!
00:19:07 Excellent!
00:19:08 And Brother Stovall, the deaf people
00:19:10 are really drawn to the attention
00:19:13 they receive in the congregation
00:19:15 because, unfortunately, in the Indian society, they are neglected.
00:19:19 For example, there was a brother who was trying
00:19:21 to contact a deaf man to arrange for a meeting.
00:19:25 So the deaf man asked if he could bring a friend along.
00:19:29 And when the brothers arrived at his village,
00:19:32 they found the interested person —the deaf man—
00:19:36 and not just one of his friends was with him,
00:19:39 but 136 of his deaf friends
00:19:43 had come along with him to listen.
00:19:45 Incredible!
00:19:47 How in the world could the brothers speak to 136 people?
00:19:52 Well, there was a school nearby,
00:19:55 and they divided the full group into classrooms there.
00:19:58 Well, I can see there is a tremendous amount
00:20:02 of work to do in India!
00:20:05 We have a lovely video to show to you.
00:20:08 A video! Let’s watch!
00:20:12 Have you considered India?
00:20:17 You may have a list of questions, such as:
00:20:21 Is there really a great need in India?
00:20:25 Here are the facts:
00:20:27 For every 1 Witness,
00:20:29 there are about 27,000 potential brothers and sisters.
00:20:33 What about the response?
00:20:35 Those who have moved here are finding
00:20:38 as many progressive Bible studies as they can handle.
00:20:42 Are you a married couple?
00:20:45 Are you a single person?
00:20:47 No matter what your situation,
00:20:49 the thought of moving to India must raise questions like:
00:20:54 ‘What about the food?
00:20:59 ‘What about the culture?
00:21:03 ‘How will I get around?
00:21:08 What is it like to live here?’
00:21:12 With some research, the answers may surprise you.
00:21:18 We all are searching for those “rightly disposed for everlasting life.”
00:21:22 If you are praying for a fuller share in this work,
00:21:25 ask Jehovah if he will help you
00:21:28 “step over” into India.
00:21:37 What a fascinating view of India!
00:21:39 So how do you feel
00:21:41 as you see the work really taking off in India?
00:21:45 Well, there is no doubt that the end is so close,
00:21:49 and we all feel that now is the time for India.
00:21:54 And, therefore, we are very much excited
00:21:56 to see what Jehovah has in store for us there.
00:21:59 Thank you so much for coming and sharing these things with us.
00:22:03 Thank you.
00:22:09 How encouraging to hear how our young ones were faithful under the ban
00:22:14 and to see what our brothers in Romania are doing today!
00:22:17 And when you heard those reports from India,
00:22:20 were you not reminded of Jesus’ words:
00:22:23 “The fields . . . are white for harvesting”
00:22:25 and his further words: ‘Beg the Master
00:22:28 to send more workers into the harvest’?
00:22:31 We live in exciting times!
00:22:34 May Jehovah continue to bless you and your efforts
00:22:38 to serve him until we’re together again
00:22:41 to get “the inside story”!
00:23:01 Well, that was absolutely delightful.
00:23:03 Thank you, Brother Stovall and everyone involved
00:23:06 in producing that video that we just had the privilege of enjoying.
